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User blog:SPARTAN 119/Little Turtle vs Hongi Hika
Little Turtle, the Miami Indian chief who inflicted the most costly defeat of US troops in an Indian Battle- with twice the casualties of Little Bighorn VS Hongi Hika, the Maori chief who took over large portions of New Zealand using the new technology of the firearms. WHO IS DEADLIEST!? =Combatants= Little Turtle Little Turtle or Michikinikwa (in Miami-Illinois) (c. 1747 – July 14, 1812), was a chief of the Miami people, and one of the most famous Native American military leaders of his time. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader then in the Old Northwest."Michikinikwa led his followers in several major victories against United States forces in the 1790s during the Northwest Indian Wars, also called Little Turtle's War. In 1791, they defeated General St. Clair, who lost 600 men, the most decisive loss by the US against Native American forces ever. In historic records, his name was spelled in a variety of ways, including Michikinikwa, Meshekunnoghquoh, Michikinakoua, Michikiniqua, Me-She-Kin-No, Meshecunnaquan and Mischecanocquah. The name 'Little Turtle' is an English translation of his name in the Miami-Illinois language, mihšihkinaahkwa. In his language, the word names a species of terrapin, probably the Midland Painted Turtle. There is no diminutive on this name in the original Miami-Illinois. Hongi Hika Hongi Hika (1772-1828) was a Maori chief during the early 19th century, and was one of the first Maori chiefs to use European weapons such as muskets in battle. Hika also supported European settlement in New Zealand and regularly traded with the settlers for weapons, and other items, including Western agricultural implements and techniques, as well as new crop such potatoes, which he introduced to the Maori. Hika also supported the transliteration of the Maori language into writing, and even visited England and met King George IV. Hongi Hika rose to prominence between 1806 an 1812 as a major war leader of the Ngapuhi tribe. It was during this time that firearms first fell into the hands of the Maori, and Hika first became convinced of their value, in spite of his defeat by the Ngati Whatua tribe at the Battle of Moremonui, which he lost in spite of his possession of muskets- Hika's warriors were attacked while reloading and killed with traditional Maori weapons. After the war, from 1814-1819, Hongi traded with Europeans, granting lands to missionaries in exchange for trade goods, though he never converted to Christianity. Around the same period, he travelled to Australia to study European agricultural and military techniques, and to trade for muskets, ammunition, and other weapons. In 1818, Hongi conquered the tribes of the East Cape and Bay of Plenty regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Starting in 1819, until 1821, Hika visited England, and traded more muskets in exchange for land rights to European settlers. Hongi also introduced himself to George IV as the King of New Zealand, though this may have been an act of bravado rather than indicative of his actual ambitions. When he returned armed with his muskets, Hongi seized a fort on the Tamaki River, killing 2000 warriors, as well as an unknown number of women and children. In 1822, he attacked the Waikato region, but met his match in their chief, Te Wherowhero, who had by this point also gotten a hold of muskets, and was forced to make peace in 1823 after a few major battles. The series of intertribal conflicts after the acquisition of firearms by the Maori became known as the Musket Wars. In 1825, Hika defeated the Ngati Whatua tribe, avenging his defeat at Moremonui, and seizing the vast natural harbors of Waitemata and Manukau. He also used the lands he conquered around the Tamaki River as a buffer zone. In 1826, Hongi conquered Whangeroa, in retaliation for their attack on Wesleyan missionaries allied with Hongi. Hongi Hika died in 1827 when he was shot at a minor engagement in Hokianga. Hika survived for another 14 months, before he died of infection. On his death bed, Hika told his followers to "be courageous", and to fight against British attempts to invade New Zealand. Hika's legacy of modernization of the Maori indeed proved to be a nasty surprise for the British about a decade later, when Hika's nephew, Hone Heke rebelled against the British, though they eventually were able to defeat him thanks their overwhelming artillery and naval superiority. =Weapons= Axes Tomahawk (Turtle) The Tomahawk is a Native American axe typified by its small head. The first metal Tomahawk heads were used as trade items, and based off Royal Navy boarding axe heads. The tomahawk has straight handle. The axe was used both as utility tool and as a weapon, both by Native Americans and by American colonists. The opposite side of the blade usually had a spike, a hammer, or in the case of some tomahawks designed mostly as showpieces, a pipe. Iron Hatchet (Hika) One of the most common tools and weapons traded with the Maori were iron hatchets. These were used as both tools and weapons, proving far deadlier than traditional Maori weapons made of wood, stone, or bone. 119's Edge Little Turtle's Tomahawk for its lighter weight, allowing for a faster, deadlier strike. Blunt Melee Gunstock Club (Turtle) The "gunstock war club" was a type of large wooden club used by the Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains regions. The weapon was named after its similarity in appearance to the stock of a rifle or musket, however, there is no evidence these war clubs were derived from or based on actual gun stocks. In addition to its weight, up to two pounds, which made it a lethal blunt implement, the gunstock war club also had a metal, stone, or antler blade similar to a spear head, like the spike on the back of a warhammer in some respects. Iron Patu Club (Hika) A patu is a type of Maori club with a broad head and a short handle. The weapon could be swung, but was often thrust at the temple from the shoulder, with the intent of breaking the skull. While traditional patu, or mere were made from greenstone, some later patu, such as those in Hongi Hika's time were made from iron. 119's Edge Little Turtle's Gunstock Club for its greater versatility with the metal spike attached, allowing for both striking and piercing attacks. Spears Native American Spear (Turtle) The Native Americans of North America used a simple type of spear for warfare and hunting. The weapon consisted of a wooden shaft about five to six feet long, with a metal or stone head on the end. The spear could be either thrusted with or thrown. Taiaha (Hika) The Taiaha is a Maori weapon similar to a spear or staff. The weapon consisted of a spearhead or "tongue" on the end used for the thrusting, along with a broad, flat "head" used as a blunt instrument. The tongue of the taiaha consisted of either a wooden or stone point. The weapon was about 5-6 feet long, with a shaft or wood or whalebone. 119's Edge Hika's Taiaha for its greater versatility as either a thrusting or striking weapons. Firearms 1 Brown Bess Musket (Turtle) The "Brown Bess" was the nickname of the Land Pattern Musket, the standard British Military musket from 1722 until 1838- Over 100 years. The weapon was one of the earliest examples of a standardized design for a military firearm in history, and was used by the British Military, as well as numerous forces who opposed them. The weapon had a range of between 50-100 meters. Trade Musket (Hika) Most of the muskets used by the Maori tribes in the Musket Wars were cheap trade muskets manufactured as cheap weapons for trade with natives. These muskets were of lower quality than military muskets such as the Brown Bess, and were less accurate, only effective up to about 40 meters. 119's Edge Little Turtle's Brown Bess Musket for its superior range and better build quality. Firearms 2 Kentucky Rifle (Turtle) The term Kentucky Rifle, "long rifle", or longrifle, refers to a type of rifle used in early America by civilians and the military. It is characterized by an unusually long barrel, which is felt to be in large part a unique development of American rifles, and was uncommon in European rifles of the same period. The weapon was a single-shot muzzle-loaded black powder weapon, which was reloaded similarly to a musket, but required more time to reload as the ball had to be rammed all the way down the barrel because of the rifling, rather than falling down the barrel and only needing to be packed in with the ramrod like musket ball. The trade-off for this was that the rifling made the projectile spin as it was fired, giving it greater accuracy, with a range of up to 300 meters. Tupara Double-Barrel Musket (Hika) The Tupara was a double-barreled musket design widely used by the Maoris during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century. The weapon essentially consisted of two barrels and flintlock mechanisms placed side-by-side, allowing two shots to be fired before reloading. The weapons were mostly based off of smoothbore trade muskets, which were often of poorer quality than those used by military forces, and thus would only have an effective range of about 40 meters. 119's Edge The tupara provides greater rate of fire with two shots as opposed to one, however, in the end, I give the edge to the far superior range of Little Turtle's Kentucky Rifle. =X-Factors= Explanations Both leaders have decades of combat experience, with Little Turtle having fought both in the Revolutionary War and against the Americans after the end of the War. Meanwhile, Hongi conquered much of the North Island of New Zealand. In terms of tactics, I give Little Turtle an edge for his mastery of guerilla warfare that allowed him to wipe out General St. Clair's army, greatest defeat ever suffered at the hands of Native Americans. In terms of weapons, Little Turtle takes an edge for the superior accuracy of his firearms, particularly the Kentucky Rifle. =Battle= Little Turtle: Hongi Hika: Little Turtle and five Miami warriors crept through a swamp, planning to ambush a scouting party of US troops rumored to be in the area. Instead, he found a group of (VERY) lost Maori led by Hongi Hika. Not knowing who the men were, Little Turtle gave a hand signal telling his men to stop. The Miami chief then fired his Kentucky rifle, hitting a Maori right in the head, killing him instantly . A second later, the other Miami warriors fired, most of the shots missing, but one hit a second Maori in the chest, causing him to clutch his chest before falling to his knees and dying Hongi Hika and the Maori warriors retaliated, however, because of the lower accuracy of their trade muskets, most their shots missed. One bullet, however, hit its mark, and killed a Miami warrior. After the initial volley, the the Maori charged. As he closed in, Hongi Hika himself raised his tupara and fired the second barrel and shot a Miami warrior at a range of less than ten feet. A Maori warrior charged directly at Little Turtle with his Taiha, and swung it down at him. Little Turtle blocked the weapon with the barrel of his long rifle, and struck back with the butt, striking the Maori in the face, before holding onto the rifle one-handed and drawing his tomahawk with the other. The Miami chief buried the tomahawk blade into the Maori's forehead, killing him instantly. To the right of Little turtle, a Maori attacked a Miami Indian with an iron hatchet, and struck him over head with the weapon, killing the man instantly. As the Maori charged at Little Turtle, however, a gunshot rang out, and the Maori fell face down on the wet ground, hit in the chest by a musket ball. At the same time, a Miami Indian with a gunstock war club was engaged in a fierce duel with a Maori armed with an iron patu club. The Miami warrior ended the fight when he evaded a strike of the patu and brought down the spiked end of his war club, punching into the Maori's skull and killing him. Hongi Hika tried to retreat, realizing he had lost all of his men, however, in the confusion of the sudden ambush, he found himself running right into Little Turtle himself. Hika readied his taiha and brought down the greenstone blade. Little Turtle sidestepped the attack, causing the blade of the taiha to strike a tree instead. In the split second in which the blade was stuck in the tree, Little Turtle struck and swung his tomahawk down into the Maori leader's skull, killing him instantly. After Hongi Hika's body fell to the ground, Little Turtle pulled his tomahawk out of Hika's head and gave a loud war cry, joined by his two surviving warriors. WINNER: Little Turtle Expert's Opinion Chief Little Turtle won this battle mainly because of the superior range of his firearms, the Kentucky Rifle in particular. Another major contributing factor to this victory was his mastery of guerilla warfare that allowed him to defeat a large American force. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Category:Blog posts